Reflection of 2018

Hi All,
 
We are quickly approaching the end of 2018 and the buzz for Christmas is taking over, I thought our next blog would be the ideal opportunity to give a little recap of the various accomplishments and trends that we have recognised throughout the past 12 months at House for an Art Lover.
 
We started off the year with some pretty major building work in the Mackintosh Suite. The expansion of the Mackintosh doors within our Main Hall and Dining Room was a long time coming and we have seen the truly  positive impact that this has had for our wedding couples and their guests. We were already established as truly Unique Glasgow Wedding Venue and the aesthetic change has only enhanced the suite for our guests to use.
 
Changing the doors allowed us to increase our maximum capacity up to 120 guests; in turn allowing us to cater for a larger number of your friends and family. For couples with guest numbers of over 80 we could hold your ceremony in the beautiful Music Room with dinner being served in the Main Hall / Dining Room. This set-up is gorgeous and allows a lovely flow of the day as guests transition into each space. With the folding doors we have also been able to experiment with many different set-up ideas for your meal, ranging from sweetheart tables, long top table positions and all round tables. Overall the feedback that we have been provided with has been fantastic, with many couples telling us that the space feels more open. The aesthetic of the doors has also been embellished with more Mackintosh motif’s added; creating a stunning backdrop for any wedding couples getting married within our Main Hall and their signing of the register in the Dining Room. 
 
 
As outlined in our last blog 2018 also noted the launch of our 2 amazing 3D tours of the venue!
Please take the tour via the link below!
 
As a unique Glasgow Wedding Venue, we were yet again shortlisted for some of the country’s most established Wedding Awards. We attended the Confetti Awards 2018 in January and the VOWS Awards 2018 this month to compete for Venue of the Year. Although this year we were not awarded with the title it was an honour to be shortlisted, and to be nominated by so many of our wedding couples. It is amazing to know that they hold the venue and our team in such high regard, and is testament to the hard work that goes into making each and every wedding day the best it can be! The awards ceremonies are always a fantastic opportunity to catch up with other venues and suppliers and it was lovely to see so many of our recommended suppliers also in the running for their respected awards; ranging from Make-up Artist of the Year to Wedding Photographer of the Year.
 
This year has been very exciting for the House for an Art Lover team. In May Jamie Caldwell, our senior Sous Chef for the last several years, stepped into the position of Head Chef. Jamie has a wealth of experience and enthusiastically got to work on creating our new 2020 wedding menus which will be available to everyone in the New Year, he also continues to develop the menu offer within the café which allows the whole kitchen team to develop their skills and creative flair in the kitchen.
 
Jamie and I have both noticed a variation in the different food trends along with a rise in the variety of dietary requirements our guest have requested over the past few years; we have therefore created more bespoke Wedding menus for couples who hope to offer something a little different on their big day. This has ranged from the Father of the Bride having his favourite pie served during the meal, to requests for fully vegan weddings -  which means we now have a delicious list of vegan and vegetarian catering options that will satisfy the most discerning of diners. Anything can be considered as an option, please just ask me!
 
Scott Longmore also took over as our Banqueting Manager and Master of Ceremonies. Scott has worked at the House for 10 years and has previously looked after all of our Wedding couples during his time as Assistant Manager, taking control of the latter part of the day when guests continued the party within our café bar. He has now been happily meeting all of our Wedding couples the day before and being their point of contact on the day. In the few months that Scott has been in this position, he has had some lovely reviews- well done Scott!
 
As wedding trends are changing there has also been a recognisable rise in the number of mid-week and Sunday weddings. These date options allow for more intimate weddings to occur at the House which is ideal for couples who wish to invite a smaller number of guests or hope to keep things simple with just close friends and family. Intimate weddings are beautiful, keeping in mind that if you wanted to have a larger number of evening guests join in the evening you can still have a big celebration involving everyone in the evening! Our maximum capacity in the café bar is 150 so this leaves plenty of space to play with when creating your night time guest list.
 
Throughout the year we have also had many different decorative touches grace the Mackintosh suite and Café Bar; all thanks to our creative couples! One particular set-up that stands out would be the use of Chiavari chairs and ivory table linen within the Music room. This set-up has been chosen a few times throughout 2018 and blows me away every time! 
If this is something that you are interested in, please just ask and we can order everything for you with our amazing suppliers.
 
When it comes to the Café Bar this year we have had very unique set-up’s, from photobooths and sweetie tables to games rooms, anything can be an option! There are a number of areas for you to play with, so please do make the most of it and let us know if you hope to try something a little bit different. The photograph shown includes the ever popular light up letters & some vintage arcade games from Go2Event Hire!
 
It has also been a very successful year for us on Social Media. Since taking over as Wedding Co-Ordinator early last year I noticed how many couples have shared their gorgeous wedding photographs with me to see, and so with their permission we started our ‘Wedding Wednesday’ posts on Instagram! If you haven’t yet managed to have a look, please follow us or search our hashtag #halweddings for all of the recent content that we have shared. Instagram and Facebook have also allowed us to keep you all up to date as we arrange our Open Day/ Evening Events, Christmas fayres and Suppliers Days, which as always are so much fun to hold. 
 
 
Overall 2018 has been a fantastic year for weddings at House for an Art Lover and I have thoroughly enjoyed my part in helping so many lovely couples to have the day of their dreams with us. I can’t wait to do it all again in 2019.
 
Hannah